The Marquesa's Necklace by P.J. MacLayne
I'm pleased to
introduce my new book, The Marquesa's Necklace. When I started
writing the book, I thought it was going to be a romance, but the
characters tried to tell me otherwise. It took a while, but they
eventually convinced me the story was a cozy mystery. But they
allowed me to keep the romantic element as a sub-plot.
Here's the book
blurb:
Harmony Duprie enjoyed
her well-ordered life in the quiet little town of Oak Grove—until
her arrest for drug trafficking. Cleared of all charges, she wants
nothing more than to return to the uneventful lifestyle of a
historical researcher she once savored.
But when her beloved
old car “George” is stolen and explodes into a ball of flames, it
sets off a series of events that throws her plans into turmoil. Toss
in a police detective that may or may not be interested in her, an
attractive but mysterious stranger on her trail, and an ex-boyfriend
doing time, and Harmony’s life freefalls into a downward spiral of chaos.
Now she has to use her
research skills to figure out who is behind the sinister incidents
plaguing her, and why. And she better take it seriously, like her
life depends upon finding the right answers.
Because it might.
And here's a taste of
Harmony's unorthodox personality:
“Harmony Duprie?”
he asked, stopping his fist just before it made contact with my
chest.
Yeah, that’s my name. Obviously, my
parents didn’t hang around many strip clubs before they came up
with the moniker. I took a step backwards. “Yes?” I asked,
wondering what I had done wrong now.
“I’m Officer Felton. Do you own
a,” he checked a slip of paper in his hand, “a 1979 blue Ford
Pinto?”
“George? Why yes I do, he’s parked
out on the street.” The car was around the corner and I couldn’t
see him, but I parked him the same place every time. The local police
knew my car, so why was the officer asking about him?
“Did you loan your car to anyone,
Ms. Duprie?”
“No.” I felt a tickle of worry at
the base of my skull. “Why?”
He sighed. “I have bad news. It
appears your car was stolen.”
I pushed past him, leaned over the
railing and tried to see my parking spot. “Did you find him?”
“Him?”
“George. My car. I call him George.”
Because like the Abominable Snowman in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, that’s
what I always wanted. My own little car.
“Your car has been totaled, Ms.
Duprie.”
Stomach churning, I leaned against the
door frame with a casualness I didn’t feel. “What happened?”
Not that it would take much damage to total George, as old as he was.
His radio beeped and his eyes took on
intense stare of someone listening intently to a voice I couldn’t
hear. He leaned down and spoke into the black box on his shoulder.
“10-4. We’re on our way.”
He looked at me. “Detective Thomason
would like to speak to you at the office.”
Now it was my turn to sigh. Detective
Fred Thomason and I are not the best of friends. I have tried to
avoid him, with little luck, since the first time he handcuffed me.
“I seem to be minus a car,” I pointed out dryly.
The Marquesa's Necklace is
available at major ebook retailers, and soon will be available in
paperback as well.
I can be found on
Facebook https://facebook.com/pjmaclayne
And on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/pjmaclayne
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